Spring 2013 Class Descriptions

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Children's Rights (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

This course discusses the basic rules and principles governing federal administrative agencies. Subjects covered include the procedures governing administrative agencies, judicial review of administrative action, and presidential and congressional controls over agencies. The rules governing agencies are quite different from those that govern courts. Knowledge of these rules has become increasingly important, as many practitioners are now likely to spend more time dealing with administrative agencies than litigating in court.
Note: This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).

Note: This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD). This is a required course for the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration (JD)Additional Information:Public Interest Law Concentration

2 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): LLM in Taxation (LLMT), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD)Prerequisite(s): Tax II

A series of planning and structural problems involving advanced issues in corporate taxation will be discussed. The topics to be covered include advanced corporate asset disposition and distribution problems; redemptions; stock transfers and dividends; collapsible corporations; accumulated earnings tax; personal holding companies and S corporations. Prerequisite: Tax II (Corporate Tax). This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students. This class meets for 10 sessions TBA.

This course is designed to teach each student drafting and negotiating skills relating to the documentation of major corporate transactions, including company formation, seed and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions and IPOs. It provides hands-on practical experience for students interested in corporate practice from a corporate practitioner with over 30 years of experience. Grades are based on written assignments and class participation.

This class will offer an in-depth analysis of legal research methods and sources, covering both print and electronic formats, to develop an understanding of legal research as a process. Classes include a combination of lectures, discussions of readings and techniques, online training, and might include presentations by guest lecturers. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating the content and organization of research resources, regardless of format, and understanding their appropriate use, to illustrate that research is approached as both a skill and an intellectual endeavor. The student should finish the class with a deeper understanding of the tools of legal research and with an ability to use those tools, either print or electronic, commercial or free, to engage in high quality, cost effective legal research. Students are graded by the standard letter grading system.

Advanced Legal Writing is a new one-unit course specifically designed to help students strengthen their fundamental legal writing skills. The class will help students master the skills needed to be a good legal writer, including :Selecting active and powerful word choices; Constructing paragraphs; Using proper grammar and punctuation; Creating a strong micro and macro legal structure; Developing thesis and conclusion sentences; Issue spotting; Extracting, formulating, and synthesizing rules of law; Crafting explicit factual comparisons; and Revising, editing and perfecting their work product. The class will also include workshops on “The Secrets of Successful Legal Writing Students” and “How to Ace Your Final & Bar Exam Essays.” Students will learn through lecture, in-class exercises, outside-class exercises, workshops, one-on-one TA and Professor sessions and practice. The class requires no outside research. It will be graded H, P, LP and F.
Students may only enroll in two of the following during their law school career: Advanced Legal Writing OR LWR III: Lit & Judicial Drafting OR LWR III: Legal Writing OR Legal Drafting. Students desiring to add the second class in this series must receive a signature on their add/drop form from the Office for JD Student Affairs, and provide the form to the Records office (that is, students cannot add the second class themselves online.)

Note: Students interested in taking this course need pre-approval from the professor.Additional Information:Request approval

A course combining one hour per week of demonstrations and lecture with a two hour per week workshop involving critique of individual student performances in a number of the more difficult areas of trial practice. Students are videotaped during certain skills over the semester with feedback from instructors and practitioners. In addition to the weekly skills sessions, students perform at least one bench trial and one jury trial. The class will also address and consider the use of trial presentation technology at trial, and the intricacies of examining experts and children. There will be minor written requirements related to the skill of the week. This is an intensive course designed to focus on individual presentation skills. Prerequisites: Lawyering Skills II and Evidence. Enrollment is limited. Students are graded by the standard letter grading system.

The Agency Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component. The Agency Internship Program allows students to earn academic credit for working in a law related internship position. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. For the work component, students intern with a government agency or a nonprofit organization. During the school year, the internship employer must be in the civil field or criminal appellate law field. Students participate in primarily on-line class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the Internship application. If you have any other questions, email Lizzette Herrera Castellanos, Director of Agency Internship Programs or call(619) 260-2342. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the concentration web pages for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your Agency Internship qualifies for a concentration.Additional Information:Concentrations Web Page, Email Law Student Affairs

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Public Interest Law (JD), Intellectual Property (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG)

In the name of two vaguely worded statutes, the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act, courts have regulated a wide variety of business practices including price-setting cartels, trade associations activities, distribution agreements, franchising, package selling, boycotts, long-term contracting, and mergers. This course focuses on the issues raised by this regulation. Understanding and formulating the arguments bearing on these issues requires the use of elementary microeconomics. Students without any economics background usually constitute the plurality of the class population. If you are among this plurality, you may experience a little intellectual discomfort, but you may take solace in the fact that, in several other years, some similarly situated students outperformed their classmates. The trick is to avoid falling into the trap of believing that wishing makes something so. I will assume that you have engaged in no prior study of microeconomics (unless each of you informs me otherwise), so I will explain the relevant economic concepts as they arise. When I am not explaining economic concepts – or summarizing a course unit – I will direct class discussion about cases and problems. I will do this by asking a set of interrelated questions designed to (a) lead students to a particular insight and (b) serve as a model for analysis. Your course grade will not be less than the grade that you achieve on the (very traditional) final examination, but it may be one grading increment higher if you make a relatively strong net intellectual contribution to class.

The Appellate Clinic is a year-long clinic opportunity in which teams of students will enjoy the hands-on experience of litigating from start to finish an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. During the fall semester, students will write an opening brief; and in the spring semester students will write a reply brief and participate in oral argument. Additional periodic classroom sessions held throughout the academic year will focus upon appellate procedure and persuasive written and oral advocacy. From time to time, class sessions will feature guest speakers such as judges and local practicing attorneys.
Students will receive four credits (two in the fall semester and two in the spring semester) for successfully completing the year long Appellate Clinic. This clinic will be graded on a four-tier pass/fail basis.
The Appellate Clinic is open only to third and fourth year law students; and students must have completed or take concurrently with the Appellate Clinic the following courses: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Criminal Procedure.

3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD)Prerequisite(s): Tax I or its equivalent, Corporations or its equivalent (at the JD level)

This seminar combines advance work in Corporations, Federal and State Securities laws, and Federal Taxation in the context of business planning and counseling. The course is based upon a series of problems involving common business transactions which present corporate securities law and tax issues for analysis, and resolution. The problems cover such topics as factors in the decision to incorporate; the formation of partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations, both closely held and publicly owned; securities law considerations in raising capital; corporate distributions; the sale and purchase of businesses; mergers and other forms of acquisition; and recapitalization, division, and dissolution of corporations.

This course is designed for upperclass law students who intend to practice law in California and therefore may wish to learn more about California civil procedure. The course will focus on the important caselaw doctrines, statutory rules, and policies which define civil litigation in the California courts with particular attention to those areas of California civil procedure that are unique when compared to federal and to other states' procedural laws. The topics covered will include considerations before undertaking representation; statutes of limitations and related doctrines; California conflicts of law doctrine; jurisdiction, venue, forum non conveniens, and service of process; prejudgment attachment and other provisional remedies; claim and issue preclusion; pleadings and motions; joinder of parties and claims, new party cross-complaints, equitable indemnity, and good faith settlements; the California Civil Discovery Act; summary judgments, default judgments, involuntary dismissals for failure to prosecute, the “fast track” system, and judicial and contractual arbitration; right to jury trial, trial procedures, and post-trial motions; judgments, enforcement of judgments, and setting aside judgments; and appeals, extraordinary appellate writs, and administrative mandamus. The course will also provide students with a brief summary of the federal or general position on each major topic covered as a basis of comparison and as a review of basic civil procedure. Third year full-time and fourth year part-time students have registration priority for this class. The waitlist for this course will be open to all students after fall semester final examinations.

Students work with assigned attorneys from the San Diego Office of the Public Defender, representing juveniles in delinquency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing their minor clients; preparing briefs and motions; participating in hearings and conferences; coordinating with probation officers, investigators, etc.; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Delinquency Clinic students must commit 20 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied as the required clinic for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students work with assigned attorneys from the San Diego Office of the Public Defender, representing juveniles in delinquency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing their minor clients; preparing briefs and motions; participating in hearings and conferences; coordinating with probation officers, investigators, etc.; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Delinquency Clinic students must commit 20 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied as the required clinic for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students work with assigned attorneys from the Dependency Legal Group of San Diego, representing abused and neglected children in dependency court proceedings. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, such as interviewing child clients; presenting evidence during bench trials; preparing briefs and memoranda; participating in settlement conferences; conducting field work with investigators; and making court appearances as necessary and appropriate. Dependency Clinic students must commit 16 hours per week to their Clinic work, and there is an additional one-hour classroom component each week. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Evidence, Civil Procedure and Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied as the required clinic for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students work with CAI professional staff on legislative and regulatory policy advocacy projects, impact litigation, public education projects, and/or policy research and analysis of current applications of law and regulations as they affect children. Policy Clinic students are also able to serve as Educational Representatives for at-risk youth and/or assist CAI’s Homeless Youth Outreach Project. Students must have completed or be enrolled in Child Rights and Remedies. Clinic slots are limited; students must obtain a permission slip from Professor Robert Fellmeth or Elisa Weichel before registering for the course.

Note: This clinic may be applied as the required clinic for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students interview, counsel and represent clients at Superior Court or in administrative hearings in a wide variety of cases under the supervision of an attorney. Students draft pleadings and correspondence, as well as confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence and either Practicum or Lawyering Skills II. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Students interview, counsel and represent clients at Superior Court or in administrative hearings in a wide variety of cases under the supervision of an attorney. Students draft pleadings and correspondence, as well as confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure, Evidence and either Practicum or Lawyering Skills II. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.

Civil Procedure II (Staff)LWAA511

3 credit(s)

Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.

3 credit(s)Requirement: WritingConcentration(s): International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)Prerequisite(s): Constitutional Law I

This course aims to put the constitutional structure of the United States into context. It will focus on the four jurisdictions that share the most features with, and are most similar to, the US's constitutional and legal system. So after an introductory week or two on the great diversity of constitutional arrangements in the democratic world, students will be introduced to the constitutional structures of Canada, Britain, New Zealand and Australia. (The last of these, by the way, copied much from the US and is by far the most successful imitator of US-style constitutional arrangements in the world.)In the course of examining these four jurisdictions we will examine different sorts of bills of rights, varying approaches to interpreting them, unwritten constitutions, Canadian v Australian (and US) federalism, bicameralism v unicameralism, parliamentary sovereignty, and more. Students will be asked to write their course paper on any aspect of the constitutions of one of these four jurisdictions after agreeing a topic with Professor Allan, who will also welcome comparisons to the US. Successful completion of this course will fulfill the law school's written work requirement.

This course offers in-depth instruction in how class actions and other aggregate party lawsuits are litigated in federal courts, taught by a trial lawyer with more than 30 years experience litigating class actions. The course covers the case law and practice skills involved in litigating cases under Rule 23, with special focus on several important substantive areas of class action practice – consumer, securities fraud, employment discrimination, and mass tort. Prerequisite: Civil Procedure

Constitutional Law I (Staff)LWAA515

4 credit(s)

This course provides an introduction to the United States Constitution, stressing the theory and practice of judicial interpretation and review, the separation of federal powers, the relation of the states to the federal government, and specific powers of the federal government. It also provides an introduction to the Bill of Rights and its limitations on the exercise of governmental power, with emphasis on freedom of speech.

This courses covers the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection and due process clauses. Specific topics include race discrimination (including school desegregation and affirmative action), gender discrimination, discrimination against gays and lesbians, voting rights, privacy (including abortion, sexual freedom, and the right to die), and property. A final exam is required. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I

This courses covers the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection and due process clauses. Specific topics include race discrimination (including school desegregation and affirmative action), gender discrimination, discrimination against gays and lesbians, voting rights, privacy (including abortion, sexual freedom, and the right to die), and property. A final exam is required. Prerequisite: Constitutional Law I

Contracts (Staff)LWAA520

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

An introduction to legal reasoning and analytical skills through an investigation of how the law enforces agreements. Included are such topics as: the requirements for the formation of a contract; problems of interpretation; damages for breach; the statute of frauds; illegality; and problems which arise during the performance stage of a contract, such as the creation and failure of express and implied conditions, excuse through impossibility or frustration of purpose, and discharge. Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code is introduced and compared with the common law of contracts.

This course surveys the law relating to rights in expressive works. We will study what copyright covers – such as books, movies, musical recordings, and software – and distinguish copyright from other forms of intellectual property, such as trademark and patent. We will focus on the exclusive rights granted in copyrightable works, rules governing the transfer of those rights, what acts infringe those rights, what remedies the law provides for infringement, and what limitations the law places on those rights, such as the fair use doctrine. We will discuss some topics of current interest, such as the rules governing the copying and distribution of music over peer-to-peer networks, digital rights management, and open-source software development.

1-3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Intellectual Property (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD)

The Corporate Counsel Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component. The Corporate Counsel Internship Program allows students to receive academic credit for working in the legal department of a corporation, company or other business entity. Students may also work in other departments of a corporation as long as they are supervised by a licensed attorney. The goal of the Program is to provide students with the opportunity to observe first-hand the operations of a corporate legal department and to gain an understanding of the legal issues addressed by corporate counsel. The student must not receive monetary compensation or any outside funding for or related to the work and must be supervised by an on-site lawyer.
Students can secure their own internship placements or meet with the Internship Director or Career Services for guidance. Placements qualify for the Program only if the organization requires that a student receive academic credit as a condition of the internship. Organizations willing to pay students or to have them work on a volunteer basis do not qualify for the Program. After a placement is found, students must complete an Application Form to have their placement approved for the Program. Employers who participate in the Program must commit to the requirements of the Program. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Students participate in primarily on-line class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the Corporate Counsel application. If you have any other questions, email Lizzette Herrera Castellanos or call (619) 260-2342. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.
Please contact the Office for JD Student Affairs (lawstudentaffairs@sandiego.edu) to find out if your work in this clinic qualifies for a JD concentration.

3 credit(s)Requirement: WritingConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Intellectual Property (JD), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG)

What are the optimal policy ingredients and business strategies for managing innovation? How can business leaders, inventors, lawyers, and policymakers benefit from the connections between corporate success, intellectual property, and human capital? The course will introduce foundations of intellectual property law and employment and organizational practices. We will examine corporate policies and disputes over the control of ideas, secrets, skill and intellectual property. In particular, we will analyze non-compete contracts, trade secrets and non-disclosures, information privacy, economic espionage, employee duties of loyalty, including prohibitions on customer and co-worker solicitation and raiding for competitive endeavors; and employer ownership over inventions and artistic work, including pre-invention patent assignment agreements and work-for-hire disputes. In the past few years, the black box of innovation has been pierced with a plethora of new interdisciplinary research and practice. At the same time, industry and policymakers in the United States, like other countries around the world, are debating the benefits of existing EIP laws. In the course, we will bring together these various developments to identify how companies can sustain their innovative capacities, commercialize science, and manage creativity, and to assess how differences in regulatory and contractual arrangements in the employment relationship can impact key aspects of innovation, such as the rate of patent filings, the level of network participation in intellectual and creative endeavors, individual motivation to innovate, organizational behavior, and talent mobility.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Taxation (LLMT)Prerequisite(s): Tax I

This course considers the tax treatment of corporations and shareholders in corporate acquisitive reorganizations, single corporation reorganizations and corporate divisions, including carryovers. Tax II is recommended but not required. Prerequisite: Tax I and Corporations: Tax II is recommended but not required. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

4 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

This course examines the structure and the rights and obligations of directors, officers, and shareholders mainly under state corporations law. Other topics include partnerships and limited liability entities. The course covers, among other subjects, the characteristics of the corporation as distinct from other forms of business association, the special problems of the closely-held corporations (a corporation owned by a few persons), the fiduciary obligations of directors and controlling shareholders in closely-held and public corporations, procedures for decision making by directors and shareholders, shareholder voting rights, and certain federal securities law subjects, such as insider trading.

Note: This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD) and the LLM in Business & Corporate Law.

This course offers a unique opportunity to examine the criminal justice system from the perspectives of a law enforcement officer, a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, a judge, a defendant and a homeless person. There is a class component and placement component. In class, you will address the legal, procedural, ethical, social, and cultural issues that arise in the course of your field work. Some Friday afternoon sessions introduce you to the Department of the Public Defender, the courthouse, the jail, and law enforcement use of force training. (See current course syllabus on TWEN.) Your field work consists of assisting the Deputy Public Defender in the Felony Arraignment Department of the Superior Court by interviewing and advising defendants charged with felony offenses on a criminal complaint to prepare them for arraignment and a bail hearing. You will choose one afternoon that you will spend in the arraignment court throughout the semester. You will also participate in interviewing and counseling people who are chronically homeless at dinners offered by the Welcome Door Foundation on several Wednesday evenings. Enrollment is limited to ten. This course is graded on a four-tier pass-fail basis. Criminal law is a pre-requisite. A security clearance by the Department of the Public Defender is required by the beginning of the semester. The State Bar of California requires completion of or enrollment in evidence and civil procedure before a student can be certified to appear in court.

This course focuses on the knowledge and skills required to litigate criminal cases in the trial courts. Students intern with an approved defense or prosecution trial agency in the criminal justice system. Students also meet in class for two hours each week. The class component tracks a fictitious, but realistic, criminal case from arrest through sentencing, but not trial, providing students with an overview of the process. Students participate in simulation exercises at various stages of the case and participate in discussions on relevant topics. Prerequisites may be taken concurrently with the instructor’s permission. Students seeking permission to take one or more prerequisites concurrently must make an appointment to discuss the matter with the course instructor in a face-to-face meeting. This variable credit course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. Course credit is based on completion of a minimum number of internship hours: 3 credits-60 hours, 4 credits-120 hours, 5 credits-180 hours, and 6 credits-240 hours.

Students who have completed Criminal Clinic I, intern with a defense or prosecution trial agency in the criminal justice system. The Criminal Clinic II internship must be materially different than the Criminal Clinic I internship. There is no class component. This variable credit course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. Course credit is based on completion of a minimum number of internship hours: 2 credits-120 hours, 3 credits-180 hours, 4 credits-240 hours, 5 credits-300 hours, 6 credits- 360 hours. (The minimum number of internship hours for course credit differs from that of Criminal Clinic I, because Criminal Clinic I includes a class component.)

This course explores constitutional limitations upon the investigation of crime under the fourth, fifth, sixth and fourteenth amendments. Its focus is on the law governing searches, seizures, and police interrogation. Topics include the nature of a fourth amendment search; arrest and investigative detention; warrants and exceptions to the warrant requirement; confessions; and the application of the exclusionary rules. This section will be team-taught by Professors Alschuler and Cole. Professor Alschuler will teach the first eight weeks of the class, and Professor Cole will teach the remainder. Each teacher will write and grade that portion of the final exam relevant to the material he covers, with the exception that questions relating to the scope of the exclusionary rules arise throughout the course and hence may be tested on any part of the exam. Professor Cole will use iClicker technology to provide feedback to students, but performance on the iClicker questions will not be factored into the course grade. iClickers will be provided to students at no cost provided that they are returned in good condition at the end of the course.
Note: This is a required course for the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

Note: This is a required course for the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).Additional Information:iClicker

In this advanced criminal procedure class, students will continue the study commenced in Criminal Procedure I, focusing on the processing of a criminal defendant through the criminal justice system. The course will address a number of issues regularly presented in criminal cases, including the charging process, the right to a speedy trial, criminal discovery and disclosure, the right to jury trial, the right to effective assistance of counsel, the right to confrontation and the exercise of the privilege against self incrimination at trial. In addition the course will include discussions of the principles of the right against double jeopardy, and post conviction remedies such as direct appeal and petitions for habeas corpus. The purpose of the course is to develop an understanding of the basic structure of the criminal process in a federal system of government as well as the basic principles underlying the constitutional and procedural protections of the criminal justice system.

Note: This is a required course for the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

Cyberspace Law has been characterized as the study of how information is regulated in a world linked by computer networks. The focus on this class will be on jurisdiction, First Amendment, intellectual property, and privacy issues in cyberspace. Although students may have knowledge of these subjects from other courses, there are no prerequisites to this class. There will be a final examination at the end of the course.

3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)Prerequisite(s): Corporations

This course will focus on the role of lawyers in a variety of corporate transactions. It is designed for students interested in practicing corporate or securities law or in careers in business. Among the types of deals typically covered are compensation agreements, venture capital financing, initial public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. The course also typically covers certain specialized deals, which in the past have included securitizations, international trade financing, spinoffs, tracking stock, and director/officer insurance. Students will complete one or more individual assignments, which will involve the creation and editing of documents related to one or more deals on a real-time basis. Depending on the number of students enrolled, students also might form teams to write papers and give presentations on a particular deal. Corporations is a prerequisite.

Students receive practical training and experience in client intake, interviewing and counseling, file review and analysis, and legal representation in diverse forums. Some cases proceed to mediation and due process hearings, where students argue the case with support from the supervising attorney. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in case management. The classroom component also includes an overview of statutes and cases in this growing area of civil law. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites. Recommended: Special Education and the Law.

Note: This clinic may be applied as the required clinic for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

Students receive practical training and experience in client intake, interviewing and counseling, file review and analysis, and legal representation in diverse forums. Some cases proceed to mediation and due process hearings, where students argue the case with support from the supervising attorney. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in case management. The classroom component also includes an overview of statutes and cases in this growing area of civil law. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites. Recommended: Special Education and the Law.

Note: This clinic may be applied as the required clinic for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG)

This general survey course of employment discrimination laws will focus on primarily the federal anti-discrimination laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, sexual orientation. (We will also discuss the California Fair Employment and Housing Act's protections when they diverge from federal law. The Americans with Disabilities Act will not be a primary area of study.) This course gives students an opportunity to think about the meaning and practice of discrimination, to analyze various anti-discrimination approaches, and to learn to think creatively and flexibly when working on problems within this complex, evolving field of law. Students will learn to strategize about bringing and defending employment discrimination suits and, perhaps even more importantly, about helping clients develop policies and practices that foster discrimination-free workplaces and resolve workplace issues before they develop into lawsuits.

2-3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD)Prerequisite(s): Energy Law

The Energy Law and Policy Clinic provides students an opportunity to conduct legal and policy research in cooperation with a related agency, such as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources board. Agency staff, EPIC staff, and students work together to select one or more energy-or-climate change-related legal or policy research topics. Under the supervision of a practicing attorney and EPIC staff, students conduct a semester-long research project on the selected topic(s). Students will present results to the agency staff at the end of the semester. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. Prerequisite: Energy Law

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration web page for more information.Additional Information:Environmental & Energy Law Concentration

The Entertainment, Sports and Intellectual Property Internship Program consists of a work component and a class component and allows students to earn academic credit for working in a law department of an entertainment or sports industry company, talent guild or trade association, or in the intellectual property law department of a company or trade association. Students work a minimum of 60 hours per unit of credit and may receive 1-3 credits. Students participate in primarily online class sessions involving small group discussions, prepare weekly summaries of their work and complete a writing assignment. If you have been accepted into an internship placement and want to apply for the internship course, fill out the ESIP application below. The Internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis. If you have any other questions, email Lizzette Herrera Castellanos or call (619) 260-2342.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Intellectual Property Concentration web page for more information. Contact Law Student Affairs to find out if your work in this clinic qualifies for the concentration.Additional Information:ESIP Application, Intellectual Property Concentration

Through hands-on opportunities, students in the Entrepreneurship Clinic provide pro bono legal services to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs who want to start or expand their small businesses. The Entrepreneurship Clinic does not engage in litigation-related services; instead, it focuses on advising clients on legal matters relating to starting their business and assisting in drafting and filing necessary documents. Such work includes: determining the appropriate choice of business entity, assistance in obtaining necessary permits and licenses, advising on employment and independent contractor issues, drafting and reviewing commercial contracts and leases, and assisting with the establishment of tax-exempt organizations. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

Through hands-on opportunities, students in the Entrepreneurship Clinic provide pro bono legal services to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs who want to start or expand their small businesses. The Entrepreneurship Clinic does not engage in litigation-related services; instead, it focuses on advising clients on legal matters relating to starting their business and assisting in drafting and filing necessary documents. Such work includes: determining the appropriate choice of business entity, assistance in obtaining necessary permits and licenses, advising on employment and independent contractor issues, drafting and reviewing commercial contracts and leases, and assisting with the establishment of tax-exempt organizations. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)Prerequisite(s): Environmental Law or concurrently

This is a clinical course for students who wish to develop litigation skills in the context of environmental law. All work is performed under the direct supervision of the director of the Environmental Law Clinic. This clinic focuses on impact litigation. There is a two-hour per week classroom component, as well as a regular meeting with the director of the Environmental Law Clinic. Prerequisite: Environmental Law, which may be taken concurrently. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration web page for more information.Additional Information:Envionmental & Energy Law Concentration

1-5 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)Prerequisite(s): Environmental Law

This is a clinical course for students who wish to develop litigation skills in the context of environmental law. All work is performed under the direct supervision of the director of the Environmental Law Clinic. This clinic focuses on impact litigation. There is a two-hour per week classroom component, as well as a regular meeting with the director of the Environmental Law Clinic. Prerequisite: Environmental Law, which may be taken concurrently. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration web page for more information.Additional Information:Environmental & Energy Law Concentration

The course covers topics in estate planning, including substantive planning strategies for beneficiaries with special needs, strategies for avoiding will contests, and basic tax planning. Students undertake will criticism exercises and are required to produce two drafts of a substantial research paper on a topic in the area of inheritance law, trust law, transfer taxation, or estate planning. Each student will present the first draft to the class for a substantive discussion and constructive analysis. The final draft is due at the end of the semester. Successful completion of this course satisfies the written-work requirement.

1 credit(s)Concentration(s): International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

Contemporary public policy and legal debates in both the domestic and international arenas involve an intricate network of moral, political, and legal considerations. The seminar’s ambitious goal is to throw light on the relations among these three fundamental realms: ethics, politics, and law.
After a general introduction, we will proceed to discuss the following topics: conceptions of liberty and equality, democracy and public deliberation, human rights, and the rule of law. Our attention will be focused on issues that cross national boundaries: Is democracy more important than the rule of law? Does economic equality threaten liberty? Are welfare rights compatible with civil liberties in illiberal democracies? What’s the place of choice in social welfare regimes? Is well being synonymous with income?
In the last part of the seminar, we will deal with complex global issues: wars and military interventions, terrorism, and global justice. Can military force be used to protect human rights? Should rich nations transfer money to poor countries? Should pharmaceutical patents be enforced in the undeveloped world? Is there a global community? Students will be required to write a short paper (10-12 pages).

The rules of evidence in judicial tribunals, focusing on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code are addressed in this course. Also covered are issues relating to: (1) judicial control and administration - functions of judge and jury, judicial notice, burden of proof presumptions, problems of relevancy, circumstantial evidence, and unfair prejudice; and (2) witnesses - competency, privileges, principles of examination and cross-examination, impeachment and support, expert and lay opinion testimony. The hearsay rule and its exceptions, rules relating to writings, real and scientific evidence are also examined.

Note: This is a required course for the Civil Litigation (JD) and Criminal Litigation (JD) concentrations.

The rules of evidence in judicial tribunals, focusing on the Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code are addressed in this course. Also covered are issues relating to: (1) judicial control and administration - functions of judge and jury, judicial notice, burden of proof presumptions, problems of relevancy, circumstantial evidence, and unfair prejudice; and (2) witnesses - competency, privileges, principles of examination and cross-examination, impeachment and support, expert and lay opinion testimony. The hearsay rule and its exceptions, rules relating to writings, real and scientific evidence are also examined.

Note: This is a required course for the Civil Litigation (JD) and Criminal Litigation (JD) concentrations.

This course is designed to familiarize students with the practical application of evidentiary points addressed in the traditional evidence course. Students focus on one or two evidentiary issues each week using a problem format. Each area of evidence is taught through performance. Each student is assigned as a proponent, opponent, witness and judge and is responsible for performing that role in class each week, and for submitting a short memo identifying the evidentiary issue and presenting the best approach to offering or opposing the evidence in court. The roles rotate each week. There is a new problem assigned each week. By the end of the semester, each student should be comfortably able to determine what it is he or she wished to accomplish in a courtroom with respect to specific evidentiary questions, and be able to structure the most logical, persuasive and trouble-free means to that end. Evidence is a prerequisite. Enrollment is limited to 8 students. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass/Fail basis.

This open-enrollment course surveys the constitutional and legislative doctrine and the adjudication frameworks related to traditional family-law topics: marriage and divorce; marital property regimes; parent and child, including child custody, termination of parental rights, and adoption; family support rights; and rights of children. The course will be organized generally in relation to the California Family Code. The informational component of the course is important, and the course will feature weekly short in-class exams testing on the week's assignment; no final exam will be offered.

Note: This is a required course for the Children's Rights Concentration (JD).

This course is best described as advanced constitutional law focusing on the power of the federal courts, particularly with respect to the states and the other branches of the federal government. It is essential for anyone planning to clerk for a federal judge, or to perform public interest work in a variety of areas involving constitutional claims or governmental litigants. In practical terms, the materials concern who may bring suit in federal court, against whom, and under what circumstances. Specific topics include interpretation of Article III, justiciability (including standing and the "political question" doctrine), congressional power over the jurisdiction of the federal courts (including the extent to which civil rights suits and "enemy combatants" may be excluded from federal court), the immunities from suit enjoyed by state governments and public officials (such as police officers), and habeas corpus. Those interested may peruse Hart & Wechsler's The Federal Courts and the Federal System for a further indication of course content. Prior completion of, or concurrent enrollment in, Constitutional Law II is very strongly advised. The course materials assume a working knowledge of due process, equal protection, and state actor doctrine.

Note: This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).Additional Information:Public Interest Law Concentration

This course will focus on the unique characteristics of Federal Criminal law. Attention will be paid to the jurisdiction of the Federal Government over criminal law as well as the individual statutes that are employed by Federal prosecutors in prosecuting a wide range of offenses. Federal prosecutions will be considered from the investigative stage, including the use of the grand jury, through the charging, plea-bargaining, trial, sentencing and appellate stages. Special consideration will be given to the increasing role of the Federal Government in prosecuting state and local corruption. This course will be especially beneficial for those students considering a career in criminal law as either prosecutors or criminal defense lawyers.

Note: Students may only elect this course or White Collar Crime to count toward the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

This is a hands-on clinical course for students who wish to develop tax controversy skills. Students working under the supervision of the Tax Clinic supervising attorney will represent low income taxpayers in resolving their tax disputes with the IRS. Students will learn client interviewing skills, how to interact with IRS personnel, and how to effectively resolve a client’s federal tax dispute. Students must also be available to participate in Tax Clinic Outreach presentations at various community locations and times. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. Prerequisite: Tax I.

The course covers the fundamentals of bar exam essay writing and performance test writing. The first class is an introduction to bar exam components and topics. The next several classes focus on the details of essay exam writing and performance test drafting. Students will receive substantial feedback on their written work, and participate in small group sessions, self and peer review, and professor-student conferencing. Grading is on the H/P/LP/F scale. Students may be withdrawn from the course and/or given a failing grade for missing more than one class, failing to turn in any written assignments on time, or failing to complete any practice examination. Enrollment is by application only through the Office of JD Student Affairs. 3L & 4E students only.

2 credit(s)Requirement: WritingConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Intellectual Property (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Intellectual Property (LLMC), Intellectual Property Law (LLMG)

This course covers the legal principles and some of the tax law applicable to a series of interesting, complex, and current entrepreneurial transactions, utilizing venture capital or private equity financing. The course will cover, time permitting, as many as possible of the following: (1) a new business start up (with emphasis on high technology sectors); (2) a growth equity investment in an existing business enterprise; (3) a leveraged buyout of a private or a public company (including a going-private transaction); (4) use of a flow-through tax entity such as an S corporation, a partnership, or an LLC, for a variety of venture capital or private equity financed transactions; (5) devising an exit scenario for the successful venture capital or private equity financed enterprise (such as IPO, SEC rule 144 sales, or sale of the company); and (6) forming a new venture capital, LBO, or private equity fund. Substantive subjects touched upon include federal income tax, securities regulation, corporate law, partnership law, LLC law, bankruptcy law, fraudulent conveyance law, and other legal doctrines and accounting rules and practical structuring issue relevant to entrepreneurial transactions (including use of common and preferred stocks, convertible debentures and convertible preferred, warrants, and options). The course reviews these in a transactional context and may also consider to some extent their policy underpinnings and likely future evolution. Corporations is a prerequisite. Introductory Income Tax is recommended, and Taxation of Corporations is desirable, as are Securities Law, and Corporate Finance, and related courses.

Students gain practical experience through interviewing, counseling, and representing clients with immigration-related problems. Students complete forms and draft documents on behalf of clients. Students also attend and/or participate at hearings at Immigration Court. Weekly meetings are held with the clinic supervisor to discuss immigration law, practical application and casework. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD)Prerequisite(s): Immigration Clinic I

Students gain practical experience through interviewing, counseling, and representing clients with immigration-related problems. Students complete forms and draft documents on behalf of clients. Students also attend and/or participate at hearings at Immigration Court. Weekly meetings are held with the clinic supervisor to discuss immigration law, practical application and casework. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): International Law (LLMC), Public Interest Law (JD), International Law (JD), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

Why and how did the regulation of immigration begin? What maze of federal law and regulations, agencies, courts, “official” memos and constitutional law control outcomes? What does it mean to be a citizen? Should citizenship emanate from parentage, location of birth, or express consent? US companies import thousands of workers annually and immigration is interwoven into commerce, recruiting and HR. Companies that poorly manage immigration lose competitiveness and risk penalties. Abercrombie & Fitch was fined more than $1 million in 2010 for I-9 violations and in 2011 public schools in Prince George’s County Maryland paid $4.2 million for improperly calculating H-1B wages. Immigration laws both separate and reunite families. President Obama deported more foreign nationals in one term than any other US President, but also used extraordinary power to offer deferred action and work authorization to possibly more than one million undocumented young people. And international crises and politics drive the migration of refugees and asylees.
This general immigration course will briefly survey the history of immigration law and introduce basic concepts, agency organization and jurisdiction. This course will explore five principal areas: (1) citizenship, (2) business immigration, (3) family immigration, (4) relief from removal and waivers, and (5) asylum and refugee law. Grades will be based on a midterm and final exam.

The federal income taxation of trusts, estates, and their beneficiaries; distributable net income; distribution deductions for simple and complex trusts and estates; grantor trusts; income in respect of a decedent; and throwback rules. Prerequisites: Both Tax I and T&E: Wills & Trusts. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

This advanced seminar is intended for students interested in cutting-edge intellectual property law. Students will learn practical legal skills while we explore currently unresolved issues in copyright, patent, and trademark law. Past seminars included topics such as intellectual property rights in virtual worlds, parody fair use of copyrighted works on YouTube, patent reform, and trademarks and free speech. Students are required to write a research paper and present that paper to the class during the second half of the semester. The grade will be based on the paper, presentation, and class participation; there is no final examination. Completion of at least one of the following courses: Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Survey, Patent Law, Trademark Law, Trademark Seminar, or Trade Secrets.

The IP Law Speaker Series will feature four distinguished speakers, typically leading academics, during the semester. The speakers will address a variety of topics in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law. Students participating in this course will attend all of the speaker sessions, as well an introductory and concluding non-speaker session with the professors. Students will be required to draft a 1-2 page comment for each presented paper, which will be graded. Students must have taken a course in some area of intellectual property, or have work experience in the field, to register for the course.

2 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)Prerequisite(s): The only required prerequisite is a spirit of adventure.

The New York Convention establishes a framework for international arbitration. More nations have acceded to the New York Convention than any other treaty in the history of the United Nations. This class will explain the system of international arbitration which has become the preferred method of dispute resolution among businesses throughout the world. The class will feature power point presentations, including photos and music from around the world. We will conduct a mock arbitration based upon a fact pattern of two USD law students who take a trip to Buenos Aires, then build a business extending from San Diego to Argentina, Brazil and beyond. LLM students will learn about an international legal structure and acquire practical skills which will be applicable when they return home (wherever that maybe). 2L and 3L students will learn arbitration law reaching from San Diego, California and the United States into the international arena. The final exam will be held during the last class meeting. Students are graded by the standard letter grading system.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

This course provides an introduction to the legal aspects of private international sales and investment transactions. Topics include sales contracts, letters of credit, bills of lading, investment and financing contracts, and resolution of private sales and investment disputes. Regulatory aspects of international transactions, including export licensing, regulatory jurisdiction, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, will also be considered. The focus will be transactional, with attention to the structure of private relationships and the anticipation and avoidance of litigation.

Note: This is a required course for the International Law Concentration (JD).

3 credit(s)Requirement: WritingConcentration(s): Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), International Law (LLMC), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

This 3 credit course on a contemporary global topic will introduce students to international legal principles (sovereignty, territoriality, no harm, compensation for expropriation, liability etc) and relevant treaties, especially the ECT, that govern the interaction between states, agreements/contracts and negotiations between states (public) and multinationals (private), and other legal issues facing the exploration, supply of and investment in energy resources. It will examine the role of major international organizations in the energy sector, such as OPEC, the OECD, the IEA, the UN, the EU as well as the role of NGOs. International energy disputes can be investment disputes most often resolved by arbitration as the preferred mode with ICSID the largest forum of choice. International energy disputes can also be environmental and human rights disputes, litigated in international courts and national courts. While using oil, natural gas and nuclear power as examples for the course, we will look toward the future and evaluate the international legal and policy issues facing the development and expansion of renewable energy, such as biofuels and solar power. This course will be examined by a research paper in place of a final examination. Successful completion of the paper will fulfill the writing requirements of the school of law.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)Recommended Class(es): Courses in Finance & Taxation

This course covers several of the most common cross-border finance techniques, including IPOs, project finance, venture capital, and securitization, by analyzing real world examples of each to highlight not only the key legal issues involved, but also the practical hurdles faced by an American lawyer working on these types of deals, frequently as part of a multi-national legal, investment banking, and accounting team. The course will also examine the ways American law and legal practice have shaped how these deals are done internationally, and how they influence these types of transactions even when US investors are not involved. A recurrent theme of the course (highlighted by personal anecdotes) will be the challenges of working as an American lawyer on these types of deals in parts of the world with less strenuous legal, regulatory, and taxation regimes, as well as different cultural norms; and balancing the need to be seen by non-American clients and colleagues as “business oriented” while also ensuring that the issues of American law are addressed appropriately and that American professional ethics and cultural norms are not compromised in the process. The course concludes by identifying several areas of opportunity in international finance, and with a discussion of risk management, compliance, and certain ethical issues. At the beginning of the course, students will be assigned to teams, each of which will be provided with a brief case study of one of the finance techniques covered in the course. Each team will make a presentation to the class in the final sessions of the course and later submit a paper covering the key elements of that finance technique and the issues raised by its application in the specified context. In addition, each student’s course grade may be increased (but not decreased) by one grade level (e.g., from B to B+) based upon classroom performance.

3 credit(s)Requirement: WritingConcentration(s): International Law (LLMC), International Law (JD), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

This course is intended as a practice-oriented course that would teach students how to litigate issues of international law in U.S. courts. The focus would be both procedural, addressing the ways U.S. domestic law incorporates international law, and interpretive, addressing the ways U.S. courts determine the content of international law. It would focus on both treaties and customary international law. Within the topic of treaties, subjects would include (a) self-execution and non-self-execution; (b) causes of action based on treaties; (c) treaty interpretation; (d) the relationship between treaties and statutes; and (e) non-treaty agreements. For customary international law, subjects would include (a) the formation and identification of customary international law; (b) the direct application of customary international law; (c) statutory incorporation of customary international law through the Alien Tort Statute and otherwise; and (d) using customary international law as an interpretive tool. This course has no prerequisites and assumes no prior knowledge of international law.

3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

The course will include specific materials and skill-building exercises on cross-cultural aspects of the bargaining process. Participants will include lawyers from other nations who are enrolled in USD's LLMC program, and upper class American JD students. Four-tier Pass/Fail grading.

3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), International Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

This course focuses on the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), with comparisons to domestic law (the UCC in particular). Considerable time is devoted to the application of the CISG to problems that typically arise in international sales transactions. The course does not include an exam. Students instead prepare written memos that reflect the type of assignments they can expect in practice with a law firm.

This course provides advanced training in the skills of client interviewing and counseling. The first part of the course is devoted to learning the specific micro-skills that make up effective interviewing through readings, demonstrations and role-plays. The second- part focuses on the counseling dimension of lawyer-client relationships. In addition to classroom preparation and activities, students will interview actual clients in various locales, including the USD Legal Clinic, the San Diego County Law Library Clinic, and several senior citizen centers. Ethical issues unique to interviewing and counseling are emphasized. Lawyering Skills II or Practicum is highly recommended, but not required. Enrollment is limited; attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Introduction to United States Law is a required course for Master of Comparative Law students. No other students may enroll. This course comparatively introduces distinctly American approaches to law, lawyering and legal processes. Special emphasis is placed on the common law tradition.

The Judicial Internship Program allows students to receive academic credit for work in a judge's chambers in San Diego. Students must work 60 hours per unit of credit. In addition to the work component of the Program, students enrolled in the program will have regular contact with the Program's instructor, Professor Horton, who will meet with students individually, assign various written projects (such as a journal and a final paper), and review samples of the student's written work from the internship. The program is limited to a total of 20 students per semester or summer term. Preference is given to students who are in, or who are about to enter, their final law school year.
Professor Horton has a manual that explains the judicial internship process; interested students should be sure to pick up a copy of the manual. Students can secure their own internship position or can meet with Professor Horton for guidance in securing a placement. The internship is graded on a Pass-Fail basis.

2-4 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

The Land Use Clinic provides students with the opportunity to become involved in land use and land development issues. Students are placed with government agencies, elected officials or attorneys in private practice. Most placements are with the City of San Diego and include the City Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, and City Council offices. Students work under the supervision of an attorney. Student work usually focuses on local issues including the procedures for siting cell phone towers, the regulation of adult entertainment and cardrooms, reviewing environmental documents, attending community meetings and issues involving affordable housing. The weekly two-hour classroom component covers the basic statutory and regulatory framework of land use law and procedures. In addition to the class students are required to attend one local community planning group meeting. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration web page for more information.Additional Information:Environmental & Energy Law Concentration

2-4 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG)

The Land Use Clinic provides students with the opportunity to become involved in land use and land development issues. Students are placed with government agencies, elected officials or attorneys in private practice. Most placements are with the City of San Diego and include the City Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, and City Council offices. Students work under the supervision of an attorney. Student work usually focuses on local issues including the procedures for siting cell phone towers, the regulation of adult entertainment and cardrooms, reviewing environmental documents, attending community meetings and issues involving affordable housing. The weekly two-hour classroom component covers the basic statutory and regulatory framework of land use law and procedures. In addition to the class students are required to attend one local community planning group meeting. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration web page for more information.Additional Information:Environmental & Energy Law Concentration

Students interview, counsel, and represent clients in Superior Court unlawful detainer trials, in administrative hearings involving federally subsidized Section 8 termination proceedings, in Superior Court involving Writs of Administrative Mandamus, and in the Appellate Department of the Superior Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeal involving appeals from the various trial court proceedings. An adjunct professor/attorney supervises students, who draft pleadings and correspondence, conduct discovery, and confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving, and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure and Evidence. Preference will be given to those applicants who have taken Practicum or Lawyering Skills II, and who are willing to take three units. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Students interview, counsel, and represent clients in Superior Court unlawful detainer trials, in administrative hearings involving federally subsidized Section 8 termination proceedings, in Superior Court involving Writs of Administrative Mandamus, and in the Appellate Department of the Superior Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeal involving appeals from the various trial court proceedings. An adjunct professor/attorney supervises students, who draft pleadings and correspondence, conduct discovery, and confer and negotiate with opposing counsel/parties. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving, and case management. Students also learn general civil litigation practice and procedures. Prerequisites: Civil Procedure and Evidence. Preference will be given to those applicants who have taken Practicum or Lawyering Skills II, and who are willing to take three units. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

1 credit(s)Concentration(s): International Law (JD), International Law (LLMC), LLM in International Law (LLMI)

There is a great distance between current legal institutions in Latin America and those that were originally designed and established Latin American constitutions drew a lot on the U.S. Bill of Rights and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. In fact, they instituted representative democracy, the inviolability of individual rights, and untrammeled economic freedom.
During the twentieth century Latin American countries suffered from great political and legal instability, civil wars, massive human rights violations, economic crises, and a great number of experiments in land reform, emergency powers, financial confiscations, and constitutional engineering. All these phenomena have impinged on Latin American institutions, legal culture, and social norms, thus creating what may be the most impressive natural socio-legal laboratory on earth.
The course will be theoretically minded. It will discuss selected problems in Latin American law and institutions in the light of law and economics, law and development, and social and political philosophy. No prior knowledge about Latin American politics or law will be needed. The lessons to be drawn can be generalized to illuminate current legal and social problems in other developing countries and elsewhere. They can also serve to assess various theoretical paradigms. Students will be required to write a short paper (10-12 pages).

Educational policy development at the local and state level is a complex and convoluted process. To give a limited number of law students and graduate education students an inside look on how educational policy is formulated, the School of Law and the School of Leadership and Education Studies are co-sponsoring this seminar under the auspices of the Center for Education Policy and Law (CEPAL). The course encompasses readings, cases, and deliberations with the instructors and guest presenters, as well as interaction in the Bay Area and Sacramento with researchers, interest groups and labor unions, advocacy-based think-tanks, and key elected and appointed governmental officials. The seminar this semester will focus on three key areas of law and policy: (1) school and community college finance reform and accountability; (2) school reform through charters, vouchers, and tax credits; and (3) addressing racial isolation in all levels of schooling (focus on Fisher v. University of Texas, Austin pending before the U.S. Supreme Court). Two field trips will be conducted during the semester. The one-day Bay Area field trip will include discussions with educational policy researchers and a class action law attorney at the Stanford School of Education and Stanford Law School. The class also will meet with the general counsel and key leaders of the California Teachers Association in Burlingame. The one-day Sacramento field trip will feature discussions with elected and appointment policymakers in the Governor’s office, state legislature, and education agencies. Student travel will be funded through CEPAL. A research paper on a topic of the student’s choice related to educational policy development and a class presentation based on the paper are required. This is a paper course that will fulfill the written work requirement. Co-teaching the course will be Scott Himelstein, former Acting and Deputy Secretary of Education for the State of California. Aside from the two field trips, class sessions will be held on selected Thursday evenings following the first class meeting. Three will be focused on the key areas of law and policy addressed in the seminar, one on a debriefing following the field trips, and three devoted to the student presentations. Note: Enrollment is limited initially to six law students. Prerequisite: LWFC 530 Education Law. If spaces are available prior to the first class on Thursday, January 17, additional law students will be admitted from the waitlist. Those who are familiar with education law through other courses and/or experiences may enroll with instructor permission once all law students meeting the prerequisite have had an opportunity to enroll.

Law and Socioeconomics studies the interrelationship between law and economic/social processes. It is interdisciplinary and draws on a variety of economic approaches (not only neoclassical economics) and other social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. It offers students an interdisciplinary, values-based approach to public policy that is designed to take into account the power implications and distributional effects of laws and stresses the importance to effective regulation of attention to historical context, philosophical beliefs, culture, existing institutions, working rules, and sources of power. Students write a paper for this seminar.

Why can (or can't) you marry your cousin? Or a member of your same gender? Why can't you have two wives? Or three husbands? What about intimate relations with your brother? Okay? What about a 14-year old? Or a chicken? Can you be sued, or jailed, if you fornicate? Or commit adultery? What are the legitimate boundaries of the sex industry? Or of a first date? Can you be held liable if you say you're sterile but aren't? Or say you're disease-free? Or that you're going to marry someone just so they'll sleep with you? Who gets the ring when an engagement breaks off? Is it a tort if you're injured during sex? In short, how does the law regulate intimate relations? This class addresses the many forms of this issue. This is a paper course that will fulfill the written work requirement.

3 credit(s)Requirement: WritingConcentration(s): LLM in International Law (LLMI), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), International Law (LLMC), Public Interest Law (JD), International Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD)

Instruction concentrates on the origins and development of the legal regime applicable to the uses and resources of the oceans. Special consideration is given to the formulation and codification process of this dynamic branch of public international law, in particular the work and final outcome of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. Topics for analysis also will include fishing activities, maritime delimitation, pollution, marine scientific research, and U.S. policy regarding law of the sea matters. A research paper will be required.

Transactional drafting is a skill used in most areas of law. It refers to the process of composing documents to formalize agreements and settlements between parties. This course will train students to be comfortable with the drafting process, which includes expressing agreements and settlements in language that will benefit clients, and composing documents that contain this language in a form that will maximize favorable interpretation in court. The course emphasizes both cooperative and individual drafting work. Each week in class, students will learn about selected components of the process, draft a document or exercise requiring the use of that component, and receive feedback on that day’s drafting activity. Students will have weekly individual homework assignments that reinforce that week’s skill. One or more attorneys whose practices include drafting work will appear in class to give students practical feedback on their work. Grades will be based on individual weekly written homework assignments and an end-of-semester individual drafting project, and are subject to the upper class curve requirements.
Students may only enroll in two of the following during their law school career: Advanced Legal Writing OR LWR III: Lit & Judicial Drafting OR LWR III: Legal Writing OR Legal Drafting. Students desiring to add the second class in this series must receive a signature on their add/drop form from the Office for JD Student Affairs, and provide the form to the Records office (that is, students cannot add the second class themselves online.)

Legal Writing & Research II (Staff)LWAA546

1 credit(s)

Legal Writing and Research (LWR) II introduces students to persuasive legal writing and oral argument. Through a series of assignments, students focus on the analytical, research, and writing skills required to produce effective legal briefs. Students are also trained in the art of oral advocacy and required to deliver an oral argument based on their legal briefs before a panel of attorneys. The course is offered in small sections with very low student-faculty ratios so that faculty may provide individualized and frequent feedback on student work. Required for first-year students.

Legal Writing III: Legal Writing is designed for students seeking to improve their legal writing skills. Students will write a client letter and legal memoranda based on a closed universe of cases. At least one assignment will require a mandatory conference and re-write. In addition, students will complete a series of short assignments focused on grammar and paragraph organization.
Students may only enroll in two of the following during their law school career: Advanced Legal Writing OR LWR III: Lit & Judicial Drafting OR LWR III: Legal Writing OR Legal Drafting. Students desiring to add the second class in this series must receive a signature on their add/drop form from the Office for JD Student Affairs, and provide the form to the Records office (that is, students cannot add the second class themselves online.)

Legal Writing & Research III: Litigation and Judicial Drafting is a course that will help students improve their research, analysis and writing skills in a variety of litigation-simulated contexts. Students will learn how to evaluate a complaint, conduct legal research on causes of action and defenses, and will draft two pieces of litigation-oriented writing (a motion and a judicial opinion). The course will also review how to evaluate legislation and contract language from a litigation and drafting perspective. The course is designed for students who wish to improve their legal research and writing skills, and is particularly helpful to students interested in litigation and judicial clerkships.
Students may only enroll in two of the following during their law school career: Advanced Legal Writing OR LWR III: Lit & Judicial Drafting OR LWR III: Legal Writing OR Legal Drafting. Students desiring to add the second class in this series must receive a signature on their add/drop form from the Office for JD Student Affairs, and provide the form to the Records office (that is, students cannot add the second class themselves online.)

This course, which is offered only to students in the LLM in Comparative Law program, focuses on providing students with: (1) a broad overview of the structure of the U.S. legal system; (2) techniques for successful research , writing and practice of law in the U.S. courts; (3) an introduction to the objective analytical skills that promote success in coursework and in the profession; (4) an introduction to persuasive writing techniques; and (5) techniques for success in class and examinations. The course has a very low student-faculty ratio and faculty carefully review each student’s research and writing assignments. Students are provided opportunities to meet with their professor and revise their written work.

The semester Mediation Skills course and the Mediation Internship are separate, though linked, course offerings. Upon completion of the skills course, students will be eligible to participate in a program allowing them to mediate actual cases filed with the San Diego County Small Claims Court. Students must do the skills training sessions and the mediation internship in the same semester. The student interns will meet with the internship supervisor in two group sessions during the semester and on bi-weekly TWEN sessions.

Mediation is a process by which a trained and impartial third party helps others resolve a dispute. Lawyers use mediation extensively, both as advocates and as neutrals. This course consists of a twenty-four hour basic mediation sills training. Participants will learn to mediate a variety of disputes, using the methodology developed by San Diego's National Conflict Resolution Center. They will receive a certificate of participation upon their successful completion of the training. Participants must commit to attending each of the training sessions as a condition of enrollment. Enrollment is limited to 24 participants. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.
Completion of Mediation Skills is a prerequisite for enrollment in the Mediation Internship. The semester Mediation Skills course and the Mediation Internship are separate, though linked, course offerings. Upon completion of the skills course, students will be eligible to participate in a program allowing them to mediate actual cases filed with the San Diego County Small Claims Court. Students must do the skills training sessions and the mediation internship in the same semester. To learn more please go to Mediation Internship course description.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

This course will examine selected economic, corporate law, and securities law aspects of the acquisition of businesses. Topics covered will include some basic (and necessary) corporate finance theory (such as valuation, efficient capital markets, event studies and option pricing theory); empirical evidence on the social costs and benefits of acquisition activity; the structuring of friendly and hostile acquisitions; the corporate law of takeover defenses; and securities law regulation of acquisition transactions. Some accounting and tax law topics may be touched upon, but they will not be a major focus of the course. Some effort will be made to examine drafting and negotiations aspects of M&A transactions. Corporations is a prerequisite. Students with substantial background in related areas may take Corporations concurrently, with permission. There will be a final exam in the class.

Not long ago copyright was regarded as a sleepy and abstruse corner of law, often confused with patents – another recently glamorized field. The challenges to mid-20th Century copyright law posed by newly ubiquitous digital technologies and the internet brought copyright into the spotlight as the entertainment, music, and software industries became aware of the economic and cultural implications of these developments. Digital technologies, however, are only the most recent of a steady stream of innovations that reshaped copyright law over several centuries. This course will explore the ongoing interplay among music, technology, and copyright with the objective of obtaining a historically informed basis for evaluating current copyright law and litigation involving musical works and sound recordings. For most of the course we will discuss developments in eras following the origins of music printing in the 16th Century. We will concentrate particularly on innovations related to recording and transmission of musical works as sound occurring between the mid-19th Century and the present, and their influence on the development of current copyright law in the U.S.
While there are no prerequisites to enroll in this course, students who have not completed a course in intellectual property will likely need to spend more time becoming familiar with IP fundamentals than will those students who have already taken an IP course. Grades will be based on a final exam.

3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Civil Litigation (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG)

Effective negotiation skills are essential to the successful practice of law. Most legal disputes are resolved through direct negotiation. This course will teach students effective communication techniques and negotiation strategies in a workshop style setting. The course will introduce students to different types of bargaining, different approaches to bargaining, specialized communication techniques used by effective negotiators, and techniques for overcoming negotiating impasses. Negotiation practices will be taught using both lecture and experiential methods (interactive exercise, role play exercises). This course will be practical in its orientation, with an emphasis on prevailing negotiation techniques and strategies customarily used by practicing lawyers. Due to the participatory nature of the course, enrollment will be limited. Grades will be based on a written final examination, homework assignments, and class participation. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass/Fail basis.
Note: Students may only elect this course or Alternative Dispute Resolution to count towards the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

Note: Students may only elect this course or Alternative Dispute Resolution to count towards the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).Additional Information:Civil Litigation Concentration

3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Civil Litigation (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Employment and Labor Law (LLMG)

Negotiation is an intrinsic part of our personal and professional lives. With study and practice, negotiation skills can be dramatically improved. The course draws on principles taken from academic research on negotiation and illustrates them through practical exercises. The core of the course is a series of simulated negotiations that increase in complexity over the term. They are carried out both inside and outside the classroom. Bargaining styles, communication techniques, cognitive barriers to communication and the impact of emotions on negotiations are explored. Then, the various contexts in which negotiations take place are addressed, including lawyer/client, business transactions, and dispute resolution in family, business, personal injury, criminal and bankruptcy law cases. The course concludes with an introduction to mediation. Enrollment is limited. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass/Fail basis.
Note: Students may only elect this course or Alternative Dispute Resolution to count towards the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

Note: Students may only elect this course or Alternative Dispute Resolution to count towards the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

This is an upper class course focused on the skills of case analysis and oral presentation of those cases to judges and juries on civil or criminal trials. The course also includes developing skills used in the discovery phase of civil cases, especially depositions. The course is specifically designed to expand the skills introduced to the student in Legal Research & Writing. The course methodology combines lectures, demonstrations and individual student performances in small groups with extensive critique and feedback by small group instructors who are experienced practitioners. The course culminates in a mock trial. The course is graded on a 4-tier Pass/Fail basis. The previous name of this course was Lawyering Skills II.

Note: Students may only elect this course or Practicum--Civil to count toward the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

The use of tax pass-through entities has become widespread and powerful both in the U.S. and internationally. The purpose of the course is to understand the rules that apply to S corporations, partnerships, REITs and other pass-through entities and how those entities are used, both domestically and internationally. The course will also consider the tax policy issues that pass-through entities raise. The questions are both broad (e.g., Why do we have so many pass-through entities? Why do the rules for each differ? What are the issues for different classes of investors? Is simplification possible?) and narrow (e.g., How is entity-level tax eliminated in the case of a REIT or a RIC? In the case of a REMIC? In the case of an S corporation?) This class meets from January 14, 2013 to January 31, 2013. In addition to class participation, there will be 2 hour open book exam.

This seminar will examine contemporary policy issues in patent law, using doctrinal, economic, and historical approaches. Readings will be drawn from a variety of law review articles and books. Grades will be based on a final paper. Students must either (1) have taken at least one of the following courses: Intellectual Property Survey, Patent Law, or Biotech Patent Law; or (2) must have taken and passed the USPTO patent bar examination.

This course examines the practical aspects of patent practice. Topics covered include a detailed review of patent prosecution, procedures before the US Patent & Trademark Office, and the requirements of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. In addition, the course discusses issues related to inventor interview techniques, development of an IP strategy for a client, and licensing issues. Ethical issues related to inequitable conduct, duty of candor, and proper representation of clients are addressed. Students will prepare a mock patent application for a simple invention, examine it, and respond to mock PTO Office Actions. Prerequisite: Intellectual Property Survey, or Patent Law. No technical background is required. Grade will be based on a final exam and work on a mock patent application.

The Legal Practicum is an innovative and creative approach to legal education. The course simulates as realistically as possible the practice of law in a small firm setting. Participants are placed in two-partner firms and handle diverse cases. You will be taught by law school faculty and highly regarded local attorneys who specialize in the area of law in which you are working. Prerequisite: Evidence

Note: Students may only elect this course or Lawyering Skills II/Oral Advocacy Skills to count toward the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD).

The roles of the lawyer in society and the obligations implied in those roles are examined. Topics include disciplinary standards and procedures, the history and organization of the legal profession; avoiding conflict of interest; obligations to clients, the courts, and society, and conflicts presented by the adversary system for settlements of disputes; and responsibilities of lawyers as public servants and citizens. American Bar standards will be reviewed.

Property (Staff)LWAA530

4 credit(s)

Consideration is given, in both a historical and modern sense, to the rights and obligations that arise out of the legal ownership of possessory and non-possessory interests, tangible, and to a limited extent, intangible, personal, and real property. Areas covered include estates in land, landlord-tenant, conveyancing, land development, public and private control of land use, non-possessory rights in land, bailments, lost and misplaced property, gifts, and an introduction to gratuitous transfers of realty.

2-3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Children's Rights (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMC)

2 or 3 credits - Year-long course
Students study the substantive laws governing the functioning and decision making of state administrative agencies. These laws include the "sunshine statutes" which require most agency decision making to take place in public and guarantee public access to most agency records (the open meetings acts and the California Public Records Act) and the state Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the process agencies must follow to adopt regulations or take disciplinary action against the license of a licensee. Students also study important limitations on the power of agencies (including constitutional and antitrust limitations), and the functioning of the state legislature, which may enact, repeal, or amend the enabling acts of most agencies. As part of their coursework, students are assigned to monitor two California agencies; they travel all over the state to attend agency meetings, monitor and analyze their activities, interview agency officials and licensees, and track rulemaking, legislation, and litigation affecting their agencies. Twice during the year, students submit written reports on the activities of their assigned agencies. These reports are edited by CPIL professional staff and published, with attribution to the student author, in the Center's California Regulatory Law Reporter, the only legal journal of its kind in the nation; the Reporter is reprinted in full on Westlaw. Students wishing to take Public Interest Law and Practice should pre-register for the course. Public Interest and Practice is subject to a special application procedure or visit the CPIL’s offices (rear door of the LRC) for further information.

1-3 credit(s)Requirement: SkillsConcentration(s): Public Interest Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (JD), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMG), Environmental and Energy Law (LLMC)

Students who enjoy Public Interest Law and Practice frequently go on to take Public Interest Law Clinic, in which they may design their own writing or advocacy project related to regulatory or public interest law. In the past, these projects have included written critiques of agencies or agency programs; petitioning an agency to adopt regulations; drafting model legislation; participating in litigation to enforce the state's "sunshine statutes"; or submitting amicus curiae briefs on public interest issues pending appeal. Student critiques of publishable quality may satisfy USD's written work requirement. Students interested in Public Interest Law Clinic must secure a permission slip prior to pre-registration from Professor Julie D'Angelo Fellmeth at CPIL's offices. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

Note: There are limitations on JD concentration eligibility. Please check the Environmental & Energy Law Concentration web page for more information.Additional Information:Environmental & Energy Law Concentration

The First Amendment appears to single "religion" out for special constitutional status, but just what "religion" is and how and why it deserves special legal treatment are questions that have vexed citizens and courts from the nation's beginning. This seminar will consider these questions in their legal, historical, and theoretical dimensions. The seminar will favor class discussion of issues and materials, and students will be expected to prepare and present a paper on an issue of their choice related to the subject of the seminar.

Legal and equitable remedies under statutes and the common law are examined and compared. The course focuses on methods of evaluating alternative remedies and arguing for or against their creation or use in a given case. The course objective is to enable the student not only to identify all available remedies but also to choose the preferred remedy from among them. The principal subjects covered are equity, restitution and damages.

Note: This is a required course for the Civil Litigation Concentration (JD). This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).Additional Information:Public Interest Law Concentration

This course will address the technical requirements under California law for admissibility of both established and new forms of scientific evidence. Possible topics include fingerprints, serology, odontology, DNA and others. Students will apply the principles of admissibility by participating in realistic foundational hearings in the classroom, and will present papers on specific forms of scientific evidence. Prerequisite: Evidence

The Small Claims Clinic offers students the opportunity to develop interviewing and counseling skills as well as trial preparation skills in the Small Claims Court context. Students assist low-income families in preparing their cases for trial at Small Claims Court and can represent clients in the appeals process in Superior Court. Students must also be available to participate in outreach presentations at various community locations and times. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

The Small Claims Clinic offers students the opportunity to develop interviewing and counseling skills as well as trial preparation skills in the Small Claims Court context. Students assist low-income families in preparing their cases for trial at Small Claims Court and can represent clients in the appeals process in Superior Court. Students must also be available to participate in outreach presentations at various community locations and times. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No Prerequisites.

This class is designed to train students to respond to the legal needs of families whose children have physical, learning, or emotional disabilities. Course work covers the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), governing the rights of students with disabilities to special education and related services in public schools. Class includes the application of IDEA and federal regulations to the Individualized Education Program (IEP), placements, discipline provisions, procedural safeguards including due process hearings and legal remedies. Statutory and case law are utilized to assist students in understanding this complex and emerging area of specialization. No prerequisite.

This course will address the often unique manner in which substantive law applies to the business of sports. Topics will include interpretation and enforcement of player contracts, antitrust, labor law and unions, governance of professional sports leagues by Commissioners, the role and regulation of agents, governance of collegiate and other amateur sports by NCAA and others, and remedies for gender discrimination in sports.
Please take note that this is a serious law course, not a chat session about sports. Regular attendance and preparation is required. Some of the issues, such as antitrust, are difficult. The final exam is challenging. Do not register for the course unless you are prepared to take it seriously.

The State and Local Government course will examine the distribution and exercise of power by state and local government, both vertically and horizontally, within the federal system. In addition to studying foundational structural principles, such as sources of authority and constitutional and statutory limits on its exercise, the course will consider emerging issues involving California state government and San Diego local government that dominate our lives today. Students wishing additional detail are encouraged to consult the text for the class, which is State and Local Government in a Federal System (6th ed.), published by LexisNexis and authored by Daniel Mandelker, et al.
One important objective is to learn how theory informs practice and how practice informs theory. This will be accomplished through the use of problems, handouts, class discussion, and creative teaching techniques. It is offered as a two-credit hour, exam-graded course. Regular class attendance and participation are required.

Note: This course may be applied as one of the three required courses for the Public Interest Law Concentration (JD).Additional Information:Public Interest Law Concentration

This Tax Appeals Assistance Program is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers with their state tax appeals. Students receive legal practice skills training, including interviewing clients, identifying evidence, drafting appeals briefs, and representing clients in negotiations with the State Board and at hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This Tax Appeals Assistance Program is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers with their state tax appeals. Students receive legal practice skills training, including interviewing clients, identifying evidence, drafting appeals briefs, and representing clients in negotiations with the State Board and at hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This State Sales & Use Tax Clinic is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers at the Petitions stage of proceedings instituted against them by the Franchise Tax Board. Students receive legal practice skills training, including gathering evidence, preparing legal briefs, participating in negotiation proceedings and oral argument at an administrative hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This State Sales & Use Tax Clinic is a joint effort between USD Legal Clinics and the California State Board of Equalization. Under the supervision of an attorney from the California Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Office, students will assist taxpayers at the Petitions stage of proceedings instituted against them by the Franchise Tax Board. Students receive legal practice skills training, including gathering evidence, preparing legal briefs, participating in negotiation proceedings and oral argument at an administrative hearing. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis. No prerequisites.

This course surveys various intellectual property and regulatory issues important in the pharmaceutical industry. We will discuss the important aspects of US patent law and the US Food and Drug Administration regulations and how they impact or influence business decisions regarding pharmaceutical product development and commercialization. We will provide an overview of the industry and its important business characteristics and issues, as well as basic review of pharmaceutical patents and selected FDA regulations. Specifically, we will discuss the legal and regulatory issues regarding FDA drug approval process, patent and technology licensing, various methods of receiving marketing exclusivity, and intellectual property issues and FDA regulations concerning drug product promotion and labeling, generic and biosimilar products, and product life cycle management. The final grade will be based on class participation and a final examination.

Tax I provides students with an understanding of the basic principles of federal income tax, including gross income, deductions, tax accounting, capital transactions, and income shifting. Required for upper-class students.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Taxation (LLMT)Prerequisite(s): Tax I

The course involves a study of the basic concepts of federal income taxation of C corporations and their shareholders, including organization of corporations; cash and stock dividends; redemptions of stock; partial and complete liquidations; sales of corporate businesses and reorganizations. Taxation of corporations is compared with taxation of partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations. The emphasis is on careful analysis of Code provisions, Treasury Regulations, other administrative materials and important judicial decisions in relation to problems that are frequently assigned in advance of class discussion.

Note: This is a required course for the Business and Corporate Law Concentration (JD) and the LLM in Taxation.

This course provides a comprehensive review of prelitigation IRS administrative procedures, practical analysis in the selection of a choice of forum to litigate a federal tax dispute, pre-trial practice and case analysis, trial techniques and strategies when litigating a federal tax dispute before the U.S. Tax Court, and a review of refund litigation. Prerequisite: Tax I. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

This course will offer an introduction to the principal policy considerations raised when creating a tax system. Topics will include the merits of different tax systems (such as income and consumption taxes), questions of tax administration and legal complexity, the efficiency implications of taxation, and distributional implications. It will consider how well current legislation addresses these various issues and consider whether there are ways that they might be better addressed. The class will be conducted as a seminar and will likely include guest experts who will join us in discussions of particular topics. Tax I is a prerequisite for this course; other tax courses, especially Tax II, would be useful, but are not required.

This course will offer an introduction to the principal policy considerations raised when creating a tax system. Topics will include the merits of different tax systems (such as income and consumption taxes), questions of tax administration and legal complexity, the efficiency implications of taxation, and distributional implications. It will consider how well current legislation addresses these various issues and consider whether there are ways that they might be better addressed. The class will be conducted as a seminar and will likely include guest experts who will join us in discussions of particular topics. Tax I is a prerequisite for this course; other tax courses, especially Tax II, would be useful, but are not required.

This course involves an intensive examination of federal tax research techniques, including locating and evaluating legislative history, administrative authorities,and judicial decisions with attention to comparative weights and relationships among various authorities. Students are required to conduct various research and validation tasks, and to prepare complex tax documents, such as, ruling requests, protests, opinion letters, memoranda of law, and Tax Court petitions. Enrollment is limited to 12 students (no JDs) with priority to 1) December graduates and 2) full-time students.

Intellectual Property development and exploitation are very significant for many businesses. This requires attention to IP legal protection and dispute resolution, but also to IP taxation in both the US and abroad. This course addresses key tax challenges and opportunities – in both the US and selected other countries – affecting IP development and exploitation.
The course first focuses on basic tax rules such as treatment of income and expenses as ordinary or capital, source of income, timing of income recognition, and the effects of tax treaties on taxation of cross-border IP transactions. The course then applies such rules to selected business arrangements involving IP such as sales, licenses and cost sharing arrangements, financing techniques such as securitization, and business combinations such as mergers and joint ventures. The aim is to impart solutions for developing and exploiting IP in light of US and other tax rules.
At the beginning of the course, students are assigned to teams. Each team is provided with a brief case study proposing one or more of the IP business arrangements covered in the course. In the final sessions of the course, each team makes a presentation and provides a paper covering key tax challenges and opportunities presented by its case study.
One or more previous courses in taxation and/or intellectual property law are recommended but not required.

Careers in telecommunications require interdisciplinary skills including the ability to integrate an understanding of law with policy making components that include economics, technology management, business imperatives, the public interest, and politics. This course aims to present, investigate, and debate ongoing or anticipated conflicts in specific telecommunications law and policy issues. The resulting confrontations may stem from technological innovation, real or perceived changes in the marketplace, or the imperatives of prevailing regulatory, economic, and political philosophies. Conflict resolution often results from persuasive advocacy, coalition building and accommodation of outsiders with new perspectives or entrepreneurial visions, rather than solely applying legal precedent. But at other times, even entrepreneurs, who have devised a superior product or service, fail to achieve market success, because the regulatory process hinders, or obstructs commerce. We will examine and debate a series of issues relating to communications services provided over the Public Switched Telephone Network (i.e., traditional wireline telephone service), wireless networks and the internet. (Video services, including cable and broadcast, will not be covered.) Students will prepare for each class by reading the assigned materials and generally taking responsibility to understand or pose questions about the positions of all major constituencies and stakeholders involved. Grades will be based on a final “open-book” exam on issues we have covered extensively in class.

This seminar will consider theoretical and historical issues concerning how the Fourteenth Amendment has been and should be interpreted. The Fourteenth Amendment’s historical precursors, the immediate history of 1866, early congressional interpretation in debates leading to the Civil Rights Acts of 1871 and 1875, and the long subsequent history of various forms of substantive due process, incorporation, equality, and enforcement-power doctrine will be examined in detail. Theoretical issues related to distinctions from the philosophy of language, the definition of “the Constitution,” criteria governing the choice of a constitutional theory, the interaction of precedent with interpretive theory, and principles for resolving inter-generational, inter-branch, and federal-state interpretive conflict will be addressed. A paper will be required. Successful completion of this course satisfies the written-work requirement.

This course takes a theoretical and practical approach to learning trade secret law by employing both the socratic and case methods of instruction. A range of issues will be explored, including examination of what constitutes a trade secret, the intersection of trade secret law with other bodies of law, strategies for determining what constitutes a protectable trade secret, the methods for protecting trade secrets, and litigation tactics when trade secrets are at issue. Class sessions will include active discussion and analysis of the law and the policies behind the law. In addition, we will examine documents that seek to protect trade secrets and that appear in trade secret litigation. Students will be “on call” several weeks during the session. Prerequisite: Property. Grade determined by final exam, assignments and class participation.

This course provides an overview of trademark and unfair competition law. We will discuss the purpose of these laws, the requirements for trademark protection, and the scope and enforcement of trademark rights. Specifically, we will cover the concepts of distinctiveness, functionality, and use of a trademark; the procedural and substantive aspects of trademark registration; geographic limits on trademark rights; trademark infringement, dilution, cybersquatting, counterfeiting, false advertising, false endorsement, and the right of publicity; and defenses and remedies in trademark actions. The grade will be based on a final examination.

In this course the non-tax aspects of estate planning are integrated, combining wills, trusts, future interests, and community property. Methods of family wealth transfer in both community property and non-community property jurisdictions are considered, including: inter vivos gifts, wills, trusts, intestate succession and will substitutes. Fiduciary administration; class gifts; powers of appointment; the rule against perpetuities; charitable trusts; classification, control and management of community property; and the distribution of property on dissolution of the community are studied.

This survey course provides an introduction to non-tax aspects of estate planning and the law of gratuitous transfers, including inter vivos gifts, intestate succession, wills, will substitutes, trusts, fiduciary administration, and future interests.

3 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (JD), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC)

The course on sales of goods addresses the provisions of Article 2 of the U.C.C., with some comparisons with the new Article 2A on leases of goods. The primary topics include contract formation and enforceability, terms of the contract, risk of loss, warranties, performance and breach, remedies for breach, and transfer of goods. A problem-solving approach is used extensively.

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Taxation (LLMT)Prerequisite(s): Tax I, Tax II

This course encompasses the ever expanding body of law as it relates to valuation of business interest. Topics include the proper standard of valuation, various valuation methods, and the use of discounts and premiums. The class will review business valuation issues with respect to family limited partnerships, estate planning, corporation transactions, and other areas. Cutting edge issues such as valuing high tech companies will be covered. Prerequisites: Tax I; Tax II and/or Corporations is recommended. This is an advanced tax course with priority enrollment for LLM in Taxation students.

Students represent veterans and military family members who
have disputes with predatory lenders and for-profit educational institutions over the use of GI Bill funds and related loans. This clinic provides free legal services
including advice, identification and filing of potential claims and representation in civil litigation, arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. Weekly group meetings are combined with individual case conferences to provide intensive personal training in litigation techniques, problem solving and case management. The clinic is graded on a 4-tier Pass-Fail basis.

This course will focus on government, privacy, and emerging technologies. It will identify the sources of privacy protection in tort, statutory, and constitutional law. It will then focus on contemporary challenges arising from government policies and emerging technologies. It will also examine how the increased use of electronic communications, encryptography, and biotechnologies pose challenges for governmental actors and policy makers. This course has a writing component and meets weekly on Wednesday evenings from 6 pm-9 pm. The course will be graded on a letter-grade scale, but the instructor reserves the right to include class presentations and participation. The course does NOT meet the USD writing requirement. The course is open only to students who are registered for all other components of the Washington, D.C. Externship Program.

This is an intensive course that will focus on the legislative and administrative process. It will give students a conceptual and doctrinal understanding of the institutional structures and processes that animate and shape the decisions of legislators, judges, and policy-makers in the settings in which the students will pursue their externships. It will be held prior to student’s taking up their externships. The class will begin on January 7, 2013 and end on January 17. The final exam will be held on Friday, January 18, 2013. Students must attend all classes. It will meet five days a week for two weeks, with the last class period designated for the final exam. Class times will be 9:00-11:50 am each day. The course will be graded on a letter-grade scale. Grading will be primarily by exam, but the instructor reserves the right to include class presentations and participation. The course is open only to students who are registered for all other components of the Washington, D.C. Externship Program.

The University of San Diego School of Law offers a unique educational experience that enables students to work in a semester-long externship in Washington, D.C. The USD Law Washington D.C. Externship Program is an experiential way of understanding the role of government, public policy or agency lawyers or advocates in our legal system. Students who work in government or related entities in Washington, D.C. will ultimately acquire an enhanced perspective and more sophisticated view of the role of government in law and society. Under the program, students will work, under supervision of an on-site attorney, for a government, or public interest agency, non-profit trade association or think tank, or with a judge; students will also be enrolled in a program of graded coursework. In addition to practical legal training, the program allows students to cement new professional contacts and enhance their professional profile.
This internship begins January 7, 2013.
The program will initially be offered in Spring 2013 for up to 20 students. Second and third year students in good academic standing may apply. (Students within the academic supervision program must receive permission to apply for the program from the Assistant Dean for JD Student Affairs). Applicants should inquire about implications of an externship with respect to other law school activities (e.g., law review and law journal writing, moot court, clinical opportunities, spring recruiting, etc.) Students will earn 12 credits under the program. Seven pass/fail credits will be earned through the work component of the externship. (Students work 60 hours per unit of credit.) Five graded credits will be earned in: (a) a two–credit, two-week intensive course on administrative law, agency practice, or legislative process offered in Washington, D.C., prior to the students taking up their agency work; and (b) a three-credit Externship Seminar that has a writing component, meets weekly and on designated weekends, and fully complies with ABA standards for academic supervision and instruction. Students must enroll for all components of the Washington, D.C., program.
It is recommended that students work together with Career Services to locate semester-long placements based on individual student interests and career aspirations. The Dean’s office determines the suitability of the placement. Students enrolling in the program will pay all standard tuition and fees required by the law school.
Students must enroll in the program by November 1, 2012. If you are interested in enrolling, please fill out a short application expressing interest. You will be contacted by Career Services to help coordinate your placement.
Questions can be directed to Assistant Dean for Career Services, Cara Mitnick. She can be reached at cmitnick@sandiego.edu

2 credit(s)Concentration(s): Business and Corporate Law (LLMC), LLM in Business and Corporate Law (LLMB), Public Interest Law (JD), Criminal Litigation (JD), Business and Corporate Law (JD), Criminal Law (LLMC), Criminal Law (LLMG)

The course will cover a variety of topics related to the defense and prosecution of "white collar" criminal offenses, with a particular focus on emerging trends in the law arising from recent corporate scandals and prosecutions. The lectures will emphasize strategies for conducting internal investigations of corporations and their officers and directors, as well as tactics used by law enforcement in conducting white collar grand jury investigations and criminal prosecutions. In this regard, the course will be geared towards students interested in pursuing careers as prosecutors or criminal defense attorneys, as well as those who may represent corporate clients generally.

Note: Students may only elect this course or Federal Crimes to count toward the Criminal Litigation Concentration (JD).

The course explores the relations between public policies and the new political-economy. The new economy, with its increased demands for flexibility and competitiveness, new technologies, and rapid globalization, has dramatically altered the nature of work relations, economic production, social organization and the roles of public and private entities in promoting growth, justice and fairness. In this class, we will explore at a number of policy fields, including issues in employment and labor laws, education and schooling law, environmental law, health law, discrimination policies and consumer law. These issues will be examined from an interdisciplinary perspective for understanding the challenges of law-in-action. We will think of practical questions of the comparative effectiveness of various regulatory mechanisms and the more theoretical aspects of legal means and social ends. Students will be required to write a paper.

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